This is an undated photograph of Chiquita Ford of Oakland, 34, whose body found earlier this month near Lexington Reservoir above Los Gatos. Photo Courtesy of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department / Special to the Chronicle

A body found near Highway 17 in the hills above Los Gatos has been identified as that of 33-year-old Chiquita Ford of Oakland, who was reported missing in October, authorities said Friday.

Santa Clara County sheriff's investigators believe Ford was the victim of a homicide, but have made no arrests. Authorities have not said how she may have died.

A man looking for cans and bottles in the woods found Ford's skeletal remains March 7 near Black and Beardsley roads not far from Lexington Reservoir. Detectives examined unspecified evidence at the scene and concluded Ford had been slain.

Ford was identified with the help of a Coogi hooded sweatshirt, said sheriff's Sgt. Don Morrissey. "It's very distinctive," Morrissey said, and family members confirmed that Ford had worn the sweatshirt.

Her identity was also confirmed by other methods, said Morrissey, who declined to elaborate.

Ford was reported missing in Oakland on Oct. 22 by a woman who said she was her sister, Oakland police spokesman Officer Roland Holmgren said Friday. Investigators have since been unable to find the woman who filed the report, he said.

Public records show that Ford lived in various places in West Oakland. Thursday would have been her 34th birthday. She was convicted of misdemeanor vandalism in 2002, according to Alameda County court records, but details of the case were not immediately available.

The woman who reported Ford missing told Oakland police that it wasn't unusual for Ford to disappear for days at a time, but that she hadn't been seen for two weeks, Holmgren said. Ford was known to frequent the Rio Motel on West MacArthur Boulevard in West Oakland, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Clara County sheriff's Detective Sgts. Herman Leon or Dean Baker at (408) 808-4500, or (408) 808-4400 after hours or on weekends, or the Oakland police missing persons unit at (510) 238-3641. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call a sheriff's office tip line, (408) 808-4431.